Georgia Frontiere
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Georgia Frontiere | |
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| Born | Error: Need valid birth date: year, month, day |
| Occupation | owner St. Louis Rams |
Georgia Frontiere (born November 21, 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri) is the co-owner and chairman of the St. Louis Rams. She grew up in a middle class home, the daughter of an insurance salesman and entertainer Lucia Pamela. When she was 15 years old, her parents divorced and a shaken Frontiere eloped with her boyfriend, a US Army soldier who died in World War II. After going to college at Pepperdine University for business and working for several years as a secretary, Frontiere decided that she wanted to enter show business. She moved to Los Angeles and later Miami, where she worked as a dancer, a singer, a weather forecaster, and in various other jobs.
In 1957, Frontiere, a well known Miami dancer, began running with an elite crowd. It was Joseph P. Kennedy, father of future president John Kennedy, who introduced Frontiere to Carroll Rosenbloom, NFL owner and millionaire uniforms manufacturer.
Frontiere inherited ownership of the team, then based in Anaheim, California, in 1979, after the death of her husband. Rosenbloom, an avid ocean swimmer, died mysteriously in the Pacific. Although no evidence of foul play was uncovered, it is rumored that Rosenbloom, a high stakes gamblers, was killed over failure to repay debts. The PBS series 'Frontline' investigated the story and reported mafia involvement. Rosenbloom has signed the team over to Frontiere in his will, but it is speculated that this was only for tax purposes and that Rosenbloom wanted his son Steven to assume control. However, Frontiere quickly dismissed her stepson from the organization and assumed full control.
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Frontiere moved the Rams to St. Louis, which was a financially risky proposition initially but soon proved to be a goldmine as the city of St. Louis provided a publicly funded stadium for $260-million, and more than $22-million was guaranteed in annual luxury suite and ticket revenues. For a period of time, the St. Louis Rams were exposed to a great deal of public humiliation as the press and other NFL teams made fun of them for having the league's only female owner. There is a popular story that the Rams once entered the visiting team locker room at another team's stadium and found that the towels and the soaps provided to them were pink and that a lot of pink bunting had been hung on the walls. However, Frontiere got the last laugh in 2000 when the Rams, under head coach Dick Vermeil and MVP quarterback Kurt Warner beat the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV and Georgia was on the platform hugging Vermeil when the Lombardi trophy was awarded to the Rams as the winners.